Friday, May 20
Seattle, Wash.
6:30 p.m.
North Dakota State Athletics
vs
Minnesota
Photo by: Kim Hill
NDSU Squares Off With Minnesota at NCAA Seattle Regional on Friday, May 20
5/17/2016 3:47:00 PM | Softball
NCAA Seattle Regional Page
NCAA Softball Interactive Bracket
NDSU Softball Release (5-17-16).pdf
Summit League champion North Dakota State (38-13) is scheduled to play Big Ten champion Minnesota (41-12) in the NCAA Seattle Regional opener at 6:30 p.m. Central Time Friday, May 20, at the University of Washington Husky Softball Stadium ... No. 11 seed and host Washington (36-13) will play Big Sky champion Weber State (37-17) ... NDSU has won 14 in a row and 20 of its last 21 games ... The Bison are 13-5 on the road and 13-7 at neutral sites ... NDSU won its third straight Summit League tournament championship and the program's seventh overall last weekend ... The tournament schedule:
NCAA Seattle Regional
(Husky Softball Stadium, Seattle, Wash.)
Friday, May 20
Game 1: #15/19 Minnesota (41-12) vs. North Dakota State (38-13), 6:30 p.m. CT
Game 2: #12/14 Washington (36-13) vs. Weber State (37-17), 9 p.m. CT
Saturday, May 21
Game 3: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 3 p.m. CT
Game 4: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 5:30 p.m. CT
Game 5: Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 winner, 8 p.m. CT
Sunday, May 22
Game 6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 2 p.m. CT
Game 7 (if necessary): Game 6 winner vs. Game 6 loser, 4:30 p.m. CT
Note: The winner of the regional in Seattle will move on to a Super Regional against the winner of the regional being hosted by Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
The Series
This will be the 22nd meeting between North Dakota State and Minnesota ... It's the second time in three years the Bison and Gophers have met in NCAA competiton ... Minnesota defeated NDSU 4-1 in 10 innings on the second day of the 2014 Minneapolis Regional ... Last season, the teams split a doubleheader at Minnesota ... This season the teams were rained out April 27 ... This would be the third meeting between North Dakota State and Washington ... The top-ranked Huskies won 3-0 in the opening game of the 2010 NCAA Seattle Regional ... NDSU defeated then No. 17-ranked Washington 6-5 at the Pacific Tournament last season ... This would be the second meeting between North Dakota State and Weber State ... The Bison defeated the Wildcats 3-0 at the 2013 Long Beach State Tournament.
Bison in the NCAA Tournament
North Dakota State is making its seventh NCAA tournament appearance over the past eight years ... The Bison are 7-12 in six previous appearances ... NDSU won the 2009 NCAA Norman Regional and advanced to the Tempe Super Regional ... The seven Bison tournament wins have come against Oklahoma (2009), Tulsa (2 / 2009), Hawai'i (2012) and Auburn (2014), Fresno State (2015), BYU (2015) ... NDSU is making it's 14th NCAA appearance overall and have a 31-27 record including the 2000 NCAA Division II national championship ... The softball program is playing in it's fourth national tournament in the Pacific Northwest ... The Bison played the 2003 NCAA Division II Elite Eight in Salem, Oregon -- placing third, the 2010 NCAA Seattle Regional in Washington and 2015 NCAA Eugene Regional in ... Six of the eight NCAA Division I regionals or super regional have sent NDSU to Pac-12 schools -- Arizona (2012), Arizona State (2009 Super Regional, 2011), Oregon (2015) and Washington (2010, 2016) ... North Dakota State has played seven teams this season in the 2016 NCAA tournament field and have compiled a 4-8 record -- Alabama (1-1), Baylor (0-2) Cal (2-0), Long Beach State (0-2), Louisville (0-1) North Carolina (1-1) and Texas (0-1).
NDSU Wins Seventh Summit League Tournament in 2016
North Dakota State won its third straight Summit League Tournament and seventh over past eight seasons on May 11-14, 2016, at the Ellig Sports Complex ... NDSU won its first two games in similar and bizarre fashion, walk-off hit by pitch with two outs and the bases-loaded -- Maritza Lopez-Portillo in the 9-8 win over South Dakota on May 12 and Julia Luciano in the 8-7 win over Omaha on May 13 ... The Bison defeated IUPUI 10-1 in six innings in the championship game ... North Dakota State had five players named to the all-tournament team led by MVP pitcher KK Leddy, who turned in impressive relief outings to earn the decision in the first two games ... Joining Leddy were designated player Bre Beatty, second baseman Cheyenne Garcia, shortstop Logan Moreland and catcher Alyssa Reina ... Garcia, Moreland and Reina were each named to the all-tournament team for the third time in their careers.
Moreland, Sertic Receive Summit League Top Awards, 10 Bison Earn All-Summit League Honors
North Dakota State shortstop Logan Moreland was named the Summit League Player of the Year, while teammate Jacquelyn Sertic was selected Pitcher of the Year ... Moreland became the second straight Bison to earn Player of the Year and third overall joining teammate Cheyenne Garcia (2015) and Melissa Chmielewski (2008, 2010) ... Sertic became NDSU's second straight Pitcher of the Year and fourth honoree overall joining Allison Bakke (2008), Whitney Johnson (2013), and Krista Menke (2012, 2015) ... The Bison had five first team and five second team all-league selections ... Joining Moreland and Sertic on the first team were catcher Alyssa Reina, right fielder Katie Shoultz and second baseman Garcia ... Named to the second team were first baseman Jackie Stifter, center fielder Jenna Isbel, third baseman Julia Luciano, designiated player Zoe Stavrou and pitcher KK Leddy.
Sertic, Stifter, Moreland, Reina, Leddy Receive Summit League Weekly Honors
North Dakota State freshman KK Leddy was named Summit League Pitcher of the Week on May 9 ... Sophomore pitcher Jacquelyn Sertic was named Summit League Pitcher of the Week on May 2 ... Redshirt junior catcher Alyssa Reina was named Summit League and College Sports Madness.com SL Player of the Week on April 25 ... Senior shortstop Logan Moreland was named SL and College Sports Madness.com SL Player of the Week on April 11 ... First baseman Jackie Stifter was named SL Player of the Week on Feb. 29 ... It was the first weekly SL honor for Stifter and Leddy, Reina and Moreland have been named twice, while Sertic has earned her six SL awards this season ... Sertic has been named College Sports Madness.com SL Player of the Week twice.
Garcia, Moreland Among Top 30 NCAA Active Career Leaders in Several Categories
North Dakota State senior second baseman Cheyenne Garcia ranks in the top 30 among NCAA active career leaders, 4th in doubles (60), 12th runs scored (195), 24th at bats (685) and 26th total bases (396) ... Senior shortstop Logan Moreland is 24th in batting average (.378) and 28th runs scored (174) ... Garcia is the all-time Summit League leader with 195 runs scored.
NDSU in the NCAA Statistics
North Dakota State NDSU has several players listed in the top 30 in the NCAA statistics (May 16) -- Jackie Stifter is 13th in times hit by pitch (0.38 avg.), Cheyenne Garcia is 15th in doubles (0.37 avg.), Jacquelyn Sertic is 17th in wins (23) and 30th in shutouts (6), and Logan Moreland is 22nd in runs scored (1.06 avg.), 27th in stolen bases (0.63) and 30th in batting average (.431) ... Overall, the Bison are 14th in stolen bases (2.08 avg.), 21st in doubles (1.61 avg.), 22nd in scoring (6.37 avg.), 23rd in won-loss percentage (.745), 24th in on-base percentage (.412), 27th in batting average (.322) and 29th in fielding (.971).
Stifter is Bison All-Time, Single-Season "Queen of Pain"
North Dakota State First baseman Jackie Stifter has been hit by pitch 17 times this season, which shattered the school's single-season record of 10 set by Jenina Ortega in 2014 ... Stifter is also the career leader at NDSU in times hit by pitch with 27, breaking the old mark of 24 set by Lynnae Foshag from 2004-07 ... Overall, North Dakota State batters have been plunked 37 times and broke the old record of 27 set by the 2014 ballclub ... Julia Luciano tied the single-game record with two times hit by pitch vs. Omaha (5-13-16), which forced home the game-winning run in the seventh inning.
Bye, Bye Softball
The last grand slam for NDSU was hit by utility player Zoe Stavrou, who connected in the 8-2 second game win at SDSU (4-15-16) ... It was the fourth grand slam this season for NDSU, as Maritza Lopez-Portillo has connected against Hawai'i (3-12-16) and Kent State (2-27-16), and Alyssa Reina did it vs. IPFW (4-9-16) ... Shortstop Logan Moreland hit a home run in four straight games (Iowa State G2, IUPUI G1, IUPUI G2, IUPUI G3) ... With two home runs vs. South Dakota on May 12, Cheyenne Garcia tied the school single-game record for the second time in her career ... With two home runs vs. IPFW on April 10, Moreland tied the school single-game record for the third time in her career ... That record has been achieved 23 times by 13 athletes.
Quickly Around the Horn
North Dakota State was 52nd in the NCAA RPI rankings on May 16 ... The Bison ended the regular season 8-10 against RPI Top 75 teams ... NDSU received votes towadr the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 on May 17 ... The Bison reached 30 wins for the 10th straight season ... NDSU went 17-0 during the Summit League regular season, becoming the first team since DePaul in 1999 to go unbeaten in league play ... The Bison have won 27 straight Summit League regular season games and 33 in a row including the past two Summit League postseason tournaments ... Last Summit League loss was against South Dakota in game two April 3, 2015 ... North Dakota State sophomore right-hander Jacquelyn Sertic threw her first career no-hitter in the five-inning 18-0 win over DePaul (3-6-16) ... Sertic faced 16 batters with four strikeouts and one walk ... It was the 30th no-hitter in program history ... Sertic struck out a career-high 14 batters in the 7-2 win at SDSU (4-15-16) and 14-2 win at IUPUI (4-2-16), five games overall with double-figure strikeouts ... Shortstop Logan Moreland leads North Dakota State with a .431 batting average and carries a 26-game hitting streak ... Former All-American shortstop and Bison Athletic Hall of Famer Nikki Gregg (1997-00) set the record at 27 games (April 2-28, 2000) ... Moreland has 23 multi-hit games ... Moreland has 16 multi-RBI games this season ... NDSU has 12 players with one or more RBI this season including Alyssa Reina and Moreland with a team-high 49 ... Fourteen Bison have scored one or more runs this season led by Moreland with 54 ... The Bison are 1-2 in extra innings this season and 43-30 in extra innings under head coach Darren Mueller since 2002 ... North Dakota State is 56-50 in extra innings overall ... Collectively, the Bison are batting .322 with a 2.89 earned run average and are fielding at .971 ... NDSU opponents are batting .229 with a 5.51 ERA and are fielding at .948 ... The Bison are averaging 6.37 runs scored per game, while opponents are averaging 3.16 ... The big inning is the first for NDSU with 60 runs scored ... The Bison have scored over 50 runs in each of the first four innings.
Garcia, Lopez-Portillo, Moreland, Reina, Sertic, Stifter Take Aim at NDSU Career Charts
On the NDSU career charts, senior second baseman Cheyenne Garcia is 2nd in sacrifice flies (9), 4th in doubles (60), 5th in runs scored (195) and RBI (164), 6th in total bases (396) and home runs (29), 7th in slugging (.578), stolen bases (70), triples (9) and double plays turned (26), 8th in times hit by pitch (9) and 10th in hits (231) ... Senior shortstop Logan Moreland is 6th in on-base percentage (.439) and stolen bases (73), 7th in batting (.378), 8th in slugging (.559), runs scored (174), home runs (28) and total bases (365), and 9th in hits (247) and double plays turned (25) ... Senior first baseman Jackie Stifter is 1st in times hit by pitch (27), 7th in sacrifice flies (6) and 10th in on-base percentage (.428) ... Senior left fielder Maritza Lopez-Portillo is 3rd in times hit by pitch (17), 5th in sacrifice flies (8) and 10th in home runs (24) ... Junior catcher Alyssa Reina is 4th in slugging (.607), 6th in fielding (.992) and home runs (29), 7th in putouts (1014) and 8th in fielding chances (1092)... Sophomore right-hander Jacquelyn Sertic is 7th in strikeouts/7 IP (6.65 avg.), 8th in opponent batting average (.226) and 9th in strikeouts (276).
Sertic espnW National Player of the Week on March 9
Memo to all future espnW national players of the week: The trip to Hawaii is not included ... Sorry ... The timing of North Dakota State pitcher Jacquelyn Sertic's ongoing stay in Honolulu is purely coincidental, her team long ago scheduled to travel this week to a tournament in Hawaii while making the most of spring break, but she certainly earned some kind of reward ... Sertic and the Bison travel across the Pacific Ocean to play six games this week, two each against Baylor, California and Hawaii ... They have their work cut out for them against teams like that, but events of the past week suggest those teams don't have it so easy, either ... A program that made a habit of playing beyond its weight class since moving to Division I a little more than a decade ago, North Dakota State was at it again as it followed the pitcher's lead in a tournament hosted by Alabama ... In her first start in Tuscaloosa, Sertic allowed four hits, one walk and two earned runs in eight innings to beat DePaul ... She topped that a day later when she allowed four hits and one earned run in a win over second-ranked Alabama on its field. She wasn't done. Sertic then threw a five-inning no-hitter as the Bison surged to an 18-0 win over DePaul to wrap up their stay ... That's an extra-inning complete game, the biggest upset of the season and her first career no-hitter ... Eight hits and three earned runs allowed in 20 innings across three starts ... All in barely 48 hours ... It adds up to the player of the week.
Garcia Candidate for Senior CLASS Award
North Dakota State second baseman Cheyenne Garcia was one of 30 softball candidates for the 2016 Senior CLASS Award ... Garcia, a senior from Vista, Calif. (Rancho Buena Vista H.S.), was named the 2015 Summit League Player of the Year ... She has taken an active role in her hometown and campus community including volunteering at Rosewood on Broadway Nursing Home and Special Olympic Hockey locally, and Adopt A Child program at Christmas with her family.
NDSU Preseason Favorite in Summit League Coaches Poll
The North Dakota State softball team has been selected 2016's preseason favorite in The Summit League among a vote of the league's head coaches. The Bison received five-of-seven first-place votes for 35 points in the poll.
Seven Bison Named to College Sports Madness.com Preseason All-Summit League Softball Teams
North Dakota State placed seven players on the College Sports Madness.com Preseason All-Summit League team led by Player of the Year choice in second baseman Cheyenne Garcia, shortstop Logan Moreland, catcher Alyssa Reina and left fielder Maritza Lopez-Portillo ... Second team selections were pitcher Jacquelyn Sertic and first baseman Jackie Stifter, while pitcher KK Leddy was selected Freshman of the Year.
The Mueller/Trachsel File
Head coaches for North Dakota State are Darren Mueller (15th season, 22nd overall) and Jamie Trachsel (6th season, 14th overall) ... Mueller has compiled a 541-280 record (.659) including 164-34 (.828) vs. Summit League competition (including tournament) ... Trachsel has compiled a 220-107 record (.673) including a 118-23 (.837) vs. Summit League competition including tournament ... Mueller recorded win No. 500 vs. IUPUI (5-9-15) in the Summit League tournament ... Trachsel earned win No. 200 at Iowa State (3-26-16) ... The Bison have had 10 straight 30-plus win seasons and reached 40 wins for the first time since 2004 last season ... North Dakota State has won seven Summit League tournament championships (2009-10-11-12, 2014-15-16) to advance to NCAA regional play ... The Bison won the NCAA Norman Regional in 2009 and advanced to the NCAA Super Regional at Arizona State ... NDSU has won six Summit League regular season crowns (2008, 2012-13-14-15-16) ... Rounding out the Bison staff are pitching coach Brynne Dordel and graduate assistant manager Kendall Grimm ... Mueller became the program's all-time winningest coach with the 4-1 victory at Western Illinois (4-16-11) ... The NDSU coaching staff earned the 2008, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 Summit League Coaching Staff of the Year honors ... The NDSU staff earned 2009 and 2015 National Fastpitch Coaches Association Midwest Coaching Staff of the Year award ... Mueller was named the 2006 and 2007 Division I Independent Coach of the Year.
Former Bison Krista Menke Off to 2-0 Start in Italy
Former North Dakota State all-region performer Krista Menke is 2-0 with 18 strikeouts for the ASD Thunders Castellana of the Italian League ... League play is scheduled to run from April through July (September playoffs pending) ... Menke, a 5-foot-11 righthander from Friend, Neb., played for DSS Haarlem in the Netherlands last summer ... She is the third NDSU softball player to compete professionally overseas, and joins former all-region pitcher and teammate Whitney Johnson (Netherlands) and former All-American catcher Shelly Rhein (Italy).
Ex-NDSU Shortstop Nicole Rivera Member of Gold Medal USA Women's Baseball Pan Am Team
Former North Dakota State University softball shortstop Nicole Rivera was a member of the gold medal winning USA Women's Baseball team at the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games held July 10-26 ... Rivera, who started 225 career games for the Bison from 2008-11, was a two-time all-Summit League performer for North Dakota State including first team honors in 2010 ... The Lakeside, Calif. native was a valuable member of three Summit League tournament championship teams including the 2009 unit that went on to win the NCAA Norman Regional and advance to the NCAA Tempe Super Regional.
Against the Nationally-Ranked
North Dakota State has won nine of its last 28 meetings with nationally-ranked opponents ... With the dramatic 1-0 win in 11 innings over 9th/10th-ranked Oklahoma at the 2009 NCAA Norman Regional, North Dakota State softball recorded its first win over a nationally-ranked team since beginning the transition to Division I in 2005 ... NDSU is currently 10-56 overall ... By year,
2005 (0-5) -- Lost at #21 Iowa 2-0, Lost at #25 Nebraska 7-0, Lost at #25 Nebraska 8-0, Lost at #20 Missouri 9-1, Lost at #20 Missouri 8-0;
2006 (0-5) -- Lost at #10 Oklahoma 9-0, Lost at #10 Oklahoma 7-2, Lost at #24 North Carolina 5-1, Lost at #6 Cal 10-1, Lost at #16 Nebraska 8-0;
2007 (0-1) -- Lost to #25 Oregon 6-1;
2008 (0-1) -- Lost at #9 Stanford 7-0;
2009 (1-5) -- Lost at #11 Arizona 10-0, Lost at #11 Arizona 9-2, Lost at #11 Arizona 12-0, Won at #9/10 Oklahoma 1-0 (11), Lost at #9/10 Arizona State, 3-0, Lost at #9/10 Arizona State 11-0;
2010 (0-4) -- Lost vs. #6 Arizona 6-0, Lost at #21 Texas A&M 4-0, Lost at #21 Texas A&M 5-2, Lost at #1 Washington, 3-0;
2011 (0-10) -- Lost at #1/2 UCLA 7-0, Lost at #1/2 UCLA 15-2 (5), Lost at #2/4 Georgia 14-4 (5), Lost at #16/17 Stanford 12-0 (5), Lost vs. #24 Kentucky 5-4 (8), Lost at #2/3 Florida 18-0 (5), Lost at #2/3 Florida (9-0), Lost at #13/17 Missouri 4-3, Lost at #13/17 Missouri 11-2 (5), Lost at #1 Arizona State 10-1 (5);
2012 (1-6) -- Lost at #2 Alabama 9-4, Lost at #2 Alabama 3-2, Lost at #5 Arizona State 10-2 (5), Lost at #21 Texas A&M 6-0, Lost at #15 Baylor 1-0 (8), Lost at #15 Arizona 11-0 (5), Won vs. #13 Hawai'i 9-7;
2013 (2-5) — Lost vs. #1 Alabama 10-0 (5), Lost at #10 LSU 9-0 (5), Lost at #23 Georgia 4-1, Won at #23 Georgia 3-0, Lost at #12 UCLA 7-1, Won at #20 Nebraska 13-0, Lost at #20 Nebraska 11-0 (5);
2014 (2-6)— Lost at #12 Florida State 4-1, Lost at #12 Florida State 9-0 (5), Lost at #12 Florida State 5-0, Won at #22 Stanford 4-0, Lost at #18 Missouri 11-2 (5), Won vs. #21 Auburn 5-2, Lost at #14 Minnesota 4-1, Lost vs. #21 Auburn 1-0;
2015 (3-5) -- Won 6-5 vs. #17 Washington, lost at #11 Tennessee 14-3 (5), #10/12 lost 8-0 (5) at Minnesota, Won 5-4 at #10/12 Minnesota, Won 7-3 at #21 South Alabama, Lost 7-6 (8) at #21 South Alabama; Lost at #1 Oregon 4-3; Lost at #1 Oregon 6-1.
2016 (1-3) -- Lost at #2 Alabama 15-2 (5); Won at #2 Alabama 2-1; Lost vs. #22 Baylor 4-2; Lost vs. #22 Baylor 8-5;
NCAA Softball Interactive Bracket
NDSU Softball Release (5-17-16).pdf
Summit League champion North Dakota State (38-13) is scheduled to play Big Ten champion Minnesota (41-12) in the NCAA Seattle Regional opener at 6:30 p.m. Central Time Friday, May 20, at the University of Washington Husky Softball Stadium ... No. 11 seed and host Washington (36-13) will play Big Sky champion Weber State (37-17) ... NDSU has won 14 in a row and 20 of its last 21 games ... The Bison are 13-5 on the road and 13-7 at neutral sites ... NDSU won its third straight Summit League tournament championship and the program's seventh overall last weekend ... The tournament schedule:
NCAA Seattle Regional
(Husky Softball Stadium, Seattle, Wash.)
Friday, May 20
Game 1: #15/19 Minnesota (41-12) vs. North Dakota State (38-13), 6:30 p.m. CT
Game 2: #12/14 Washington (36-13) vs. Weber State (37-17), 9 p.m. CT
Saturday, May 21
Game 3: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 3 p.m. CT
Game 4: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 5:30 p.m. CT
Game 5: Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 winner, 8 p.m. CT
Sunday, May 22
Game 6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 2 p.m. CT
Game 7 (if necessary): Game 6 winner vs. Game 6 loser, 4:30 p.m. CT
Note: The winner of the regional in Seattle will move on to a Super Regional against the winner of the regional being hosted by Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
The Series
This will be the 22nd meeting between North Dakota State and Minnesota ... It's the second time in three years the Bison and Gophers have met in NCAA competiton ... Minnesota defeated NDSU 4-1 in 10 innings on the second day of the 2014 Minneapolis Regional ... Last season, the teams split a doubleheader at Minnesota ... This season the teams were rained out April 27 ... This would be the third meeting between North Dakota State and Washington ... The top-ranked Huskies won 3-0 in the opening game of the 2010 NCAA Seattle Regional ... NDSU defeated then No. 17-ranked Washington 6-5 at the Pacific Tournament last season ... This would be the second meeting between North Dakota State and Weber State ... The Bison defeated the Wildcats 3-0 at the 2013 Long Beach State Tournament.
Bison in the NCAA Tournament
North Dakota State is making its seventh NCAA tournament appearance over the past eight years ... The Bison are 7-12 in six previous appearances ... NDSU won the 2009 NCAA Norman Regional and advanced to the Tempe Super Regional ... The seven Bison tournament wins have come against Oklahoma (2009), Tulsa (2 / 2009), Hawai'i (2012) and Auburn (2014), Fresno State (2015), BYU (2015) ... NDSU is making it's 14th NCAA appearance overall and have a 31-27 record including the 2000 NCAA Division II national championship ... The softball program is playing in it's fourth national tournament in the Pacific Northwest ... The Bison played the 2003 NCAA Division II Elite Eight in Salem, Oregon -- placing third, the 2010 NCAA Seattle Regional in Washington and 2015 NCAA Eugene Regional in ... Six of the eight NCAA Division I regionals or super regional have sent NDSU to Pac-12 schools -- Arizona (2012), Arizona State (2009 Super Regional, 2011), Oregon (2015) and Washington (2010, 2016) ... North Dakota State has played seven teams this season in the 2016 NCAA tournament field and have compiled a 4-8 record -- Alabama (1-1), Baylor (0-2) Cal (2-0), Long Beach State (0-2), Louisville (0-1) North Carolina (1-1) and Texas (0-1).
NDSU Wins Seventh Summit League Tournament in 2016
North Dakota State won its third straight Summit League Tournament and seventh over past eight seasons on May 11-14, 2016, at the Ellig Sports Complex ... NDSU won its first two games in similar and bizarre fashion, walk-off hit by pitch with two outs and the bases-loaded -- Maritza Lopez-Portillo in the 9-8 win over South Dakota on May 12 and Julia Luciano in the 8-7 win over Omaha on May 13 ... The Bison defeated IUPUI 10-1 in six innings in the championship game ... North Dakota State had five players named to the all-tournament team led by MVP pitcher KK Leddy, who turned in impressive relief outings to earn the decision in the first two games ... Joining Leddy were designated player Bre Beatty, second baseman Cheyenne Garcia, shortstop Logan Moreland and catcher Alyssa Reina ... Garcia, Moreland and Reina were each named to the all-tournament team for the third time in their careers.
Moreland, Sertic Receive Summit League Top Awards, 10 Bison Earn All-Summit League Honors
North Dakota State shortstop Logan Moreland was named the Summit League Player of the Year, while teammate Jacquelyn Sertic was selected Pitcher of the Year ... Moreland became the second straight Bison to earn Player of the Year and third overall joining teammate Cheyenne Garcia (2015) and Melissa Chmielewski (2008, 2010) ... Sertic became NDSU's second straight Pitcher of the Year and fourth honoree overall joining Allison Bakke (2008), Whitney Johnson (2013), and Krista Menke (2012, 2015) ... The Bison had five first team and five second team all-league selections ... Joining Moreland and Sertic on the first team were catcher Alyssa Reina, right fielder Katie Shoultz and second baseman Garcia ... Named to the second team were first baseman Jackie Stifter, center fielder Jenna Isbel, third baseman Julia Luciano, designiated player Zoe Stavrou and pitcher KK Leddy.
Sertic, Stifter, Moreland, Reina, Leddy Receive Summit League Weekly Honors
North Dakota State freshman KK Leddy was named Summit League Pitcher of the Week on May 9 ... Sophomore pitcher Jacquelyn Sertic was named Summit League Pitcher of the Week on May 2 ... Redshirt junior catcher Alyssa Reina was named Summit League and College Sports Madness.com SL Player of the Week on April 25 ... Senior shortstop Logan Moreland was named SL and College Sports Madness.com SL Player of the Week on April 11 ... First baseman Jackie Stifter was named SL Player of the Week on Feb. 29 ... It was the first weekly SL honor for Stifter and Leddy, Reina and Moreland have been named twice, while Sertic has earned her six SL awards this season ... Sertic has been named College Sports Madness.com SL Player of the Week twice.
Garcia, Moreland Among Top 30 NCAA Active Career Leaders in Several Categories
North Dakota State senior second baseman Cheyenne Garcia ranks in the top 30 among NCAA active career leaders, 4th in doubles (60), 12th runs scored (195), 24th at bats (685) and 26th total bases (396) ... Senior shortstop Logan Moreland is 24th in batting average (.378) and 28th runs scored (174) ... Garcia is the all-time Summit League leader with 195 runs scored.
NDSU in the NCAA Statistics
North Dakota State NDSU has several players listed in the top 30 in the NCAA statistics (May 16) -- Jackie Stifter is 13th in times hit by pitch (0.38 avg.), Cheyenne Garcia is 15th in doubles (0.37 avg.), Jacquelyn Sertic is 17th in wins (23) and 30th in shutouts (6), and Logan Moreland is 22nd in runs scored (1.06 avg.), 27th in stolen bases (0.63) and 30th in batting average (.431) ... Overall, the Bison are 14th in stolen bases (2.08 avg.), 21st in doubles (1.61 avg.), 22nd in scoring (6.37 avg.), 23rd in won-loss percentage (.745), 24th in on-base percentage (.412), 27th in batting average (.322) and 29th in fielding (.971).
Stifter is Bison All-Time, Single-Season "Queen of Pain"
North Dakota State First baseman Jackie Stifter has been hit by pitch 17 times this season, which shattered the school's single-season record of 10 set by Jenina Ortega in 2014 ... Stifter is also the career leader at NDSU in times hit by pitch with 27, breaking the old mark of 24 set by Lynnae Foshag from 2004-07 ... Overall, North Dakota State batters have been plunked 37 times and broke the old record of 27 set by the 2014 ballclub ... Julia Luciano tied the single-game record with two times hit by pitch vs. Omaha (5-13-16), which forced home the game-winning run in the seventh inning.
Bye, Bye Softball
The last grand slam for NDSU was hit by utility player Zoe Stavrou, who connected in the 8-2 second game win at SDSU (4-15-16) ... It was the fourth grand slam this season for NDSU, as Maritza Lopez-Portillo has connected against Hawai'i (3-12-16) and Kent State (2-27-16), and Alyssa Reina did it vs. IPFW (4-9-16) ... Shortstop Logan Moreland hit a home run in four straight games (Iowa State G2, IUPUI G1, IUPUI G2, IUPUI G3) ... With two home runs vs. South Dakota on May 12, Cheyenne Garcia tied the school single-game record for the second time in her career ... With two home runs vs. IPFW on April 10, Moreland tied the school single-game record for the third time in her career ... That record has been achieved 23 times by 13 athletes.
Quickly Around the Horn
North Dakota State was 52nd in the NCAA RPI rankings on May 16 ... The Bison ended the regular season 8-10 against RPI Top 75 teams ... NDSU received votes towadr the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 on May 17 ... The Bison reached 30 wins for the 10th straight season ... NDSU went 17-0 during the Summit League regular season, becoming the first team since DePaul in 1999 to go unbeaten in league play ... The Bison have won 27 straight Summit League regular season games and 33 in a row including the past two Summit League postseason tournaments ... Last Summit League loss was against South Dakota in game two April 3, 2015 ... North Dakota State sophomore right-hander Jacquelyn Sertic threw her first career no-hitter in the five-inning 18-0 win over DePaul (3-6-16) ... Sertic faced 16 batters with four strikeouts and one walk ... It was the 30th no-hitter in program history ... Sertic struck out a career-high 14 batters in the 7-2 win at SDSU (4-15-16) and 14-2 win at IUPUI (4-2-16), five games overall with double-figure strikeouts ... Shortstop Logan Moreland leads North Dakota State with a .431 batting average and carries a 26-game hitting streak ... Former All-American shortstop and Bison Athletic Hall of Famer Nikki Gregg (1997-00) set the record at 27 games (April 2-28, 2000) ... Moreland has 23 multi-hit games ... Moreland has 16 multi-RBI games this season ... NDSU has 12 players with one or more RBI this season including Alyssa Reina and Moreland with a team-high 49 ... Fourteen Bison have scored one or more runs this season led by Moreland with 54 ... The Bison are 1-2 in extra innings this season and 43-30 in extra innings under head coach Darren Mueller since 2002 ... North Dakota State is 56-50 in extra innings overall ... Collectively, the Bison are batting .322 with a 2.89 earned run average and are fielding at .971 ... NDSU opponents are batting .229 with a 5.51 ERA and are fielding at .948 ... The Bison are averaging 6.37 runs scored per game, while opponents are averaging 3.16 ... The big inning is the first for NDSU with 60 runs scored ... The Bison have scored over 50 runs in each of the first four innings.
Garcia, Lopez-Portillo, Moreland, Reina, Sertic, Stifter Take Aim at NDSU Career Charts
On the NDSU career charts, senior second baseman Cheyenne Garcia is 2nd in sacrifice flies (9), 4th in doubles (60), 5th in runs scored (195) and RBI (164), 6th in total bases (396) and home runs (29), 7th in slugging (.578), stolen bases (70), triples (9) and double plays turned (26), 8th in times hit by pitch (9) and 10th in hits (231) ... Senior shortstop Logan Moreland is 6th in on-base percentage (.439) and stolen bases (73), 7th in batting (.378), 8th in slugging (.559), runs scored (174), home runs (28) and total bases (365), and 9th in hits (247) and double plays turned (25) ... Senior first baseman Jackie Stifter is 1st in times hit by pitch (27), 7th in sacrifice flies (6) and 10th in on-base percentage (.428) ... Senior left fielder Maritza Lopez-Portillo is 3rd in times hit by pitch (17), 5th in sacrifice flies (8) and 10th in home runs (24) ... Junior catcher Alyssa Reina is 4th in slugging (.607), 6th in fielding (.992) and home runs (29), 7th in putouts (1014) and 8th in fielding chances (1092)... Sophomore right-hander Jacquelyn Sertic is 7th in strikeouts/7 IP (6.65 avg.), 8th in opponent batting average (.226) and 9th in strikeouts (276).
Sertic espnW National Player of the Week on March 9
Memo to all future espnW national players of the week: The trip to Hawaii is not included ... Sorry ... The timing of North Dakota State pitcher Jacquelyn Sertic's ongoing stay in Honolulu is purely coincidental, her team long ago scheduled to travel this week to a tournament in Hawaii while making the most of spring break, but she certainly earned some kind of reward ... Sertic and the Bison travel across the Pacific Ocean to play six games this week, two each against Baylor, California and Hawaii ... They have their work cut out for them against teams like that, but events of the past week suggest those teams don't have it so easy, either ... A program that made a habit of playing beyond its weight class since moving to Division I a little more than a decade ago, North Dakota State was at it again as it followed the pitcher's lead in a tournament hosted by Alabama ... In her first start in Tuscaloosa, Sertic allowed four hits, one walk and two earned runs in eight innings to beat DePaul ... She topped that a day later when she allowed four hits and one earned run in a win over second-ranked Alabama on its field. She wasn't done. Sertic then threw a five-inning no-hitter as the Bison surged to an 18-0 win over DePaul to wrap up their stay ... That's an extra-inning complete game, the biggest upset of the season and her first career no-hitter ... Eight hits and three earned runs allowed in 20 innings across three starts ... All in barely 48 hours ... It adds up to the player of the week.
Garcia Candidate for Senior CLASS Award
North Dakota State second baseman Cheyenne Garcia was one of 30 softball candidates for the 2016 Senior CLASS Award ... Garcia, a senior from Vista, Calif. (Rancho Buena Vista H.S.), was named the 2015 Summit League Player of the Year ... She has taken an active role in her hometown and campus community including volunteering at Rosewood on Broadway Nursing Home and Special Olympic Hockey locally, and Adopt A Child program at Christmas with her family.
NDSU Preseason Favorite in Summit League Coaches Poll
The North Dakota State softball team has been selected 2016's preseason favorite in The Summit League among a vote of the league's head coaches. The Bison received five-of-seven first-place votes for 35 points in the poll.
Seven Bison Named to College Sports Madness.com Preseason All-Summit League Softball Teams
North Dakota State placed seven players on the College Sports Madness.com Preseason All-Summit League team led by Player of the Year choice in second baseman Cheyenne Garcia, shortstop Logan Moreland, catcher Alyssa Reina and left fielder Maritza Lopez-Portillo ... Second team selections were pitcher Jacquelyn Sertic and first baseman Jackie Stifter, while pitcher KK Leddy was selected Freshman of the Year.
The Mueller/Trachsel File
Head coaches for North Dakota State are Darren Mueller (15th season, 22nd overall) and Jamie Trachsel (6th season, 14th overall) ... Mueller has compiled a 541-280 record (.659) including 164-34 (.828) vs. Summit League competition (including tournament) ... Trachsel has compiled a 220-107 record (.673) including a 118-23 (.837) vs. Summit League competition including tournament ... Mueller recorded win No. 500 vs. IUPUI (5-9-15) in the Summit League tournament ... Trachsel earned win No. 200 at Iowa State (3-26-16) ... The Bison have had 10 straight 30-plus win seasons and reached 40 wins for the first time since 2004 last season ... North Dakota State has won seven Summit League tournament championships (2009-10-11-12, 2014-15-16) to advance to NCAA regional play ... The Bison won the NCAA Norman Regional in 2009 and advanced to the NCAA Super Regional at Arizona State ... NDSU has won six Summit League regular season crowns (2008, 2012-13-14-15-16) ... Rounding out the Bison staff are pitching coach Brynne Dordel and graduate assistant manager Kendall Grimm ... Mueller became the program's all-time winningest coach with the 4-1 victory at Western Illinois (4-16-11) ... The NDSU coaching staff earned the 2008, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 Summit League Coaching Staff of the Year honors ... The NDSU staff earned 2009 and 2015 National Fastpitch Coaches Association Midwest Coaching Staff of the Year award ... Mueller was named the 2006 and 2007 Division I Independent Coach of the Year.
Former Bison Krista Menke Off to 2-0 Start in Italy
Former North Dakota State all-region performer Krista Menke is 2-0 with 18 strikeouts for the ASD Thunders Castellana of the Italian League ... League play is scheduled to run from April through July (September playoffs pending) ... Menke, a 5-foot-11 righthander from Friend, Neb., played for DSS Haarlem in the Netherlands last summer ... She is the third NDSU softball player to compete professionally overseas, and joins former all-region pitcher and teammate Whitney Johnson (Netherlands) and former All-American catcher Shelly Rhein (Italy).
Ex-NDSU Shortstop Nicole Rivera Member of Gold Medal USA Women's Baseball Pan Am Team
Former North Dakota State University softball shortstop Nicole Rivera was a member of the gold medal winning USA Women's Baseball team at the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games held July 10-26 ... Rivera, who started 225 career games for the Bison from 2008-11, was a two-time all-Summit League performer for North Dakota State including first team honors in 2010 ... The Lakeside, Calif. native was a valuable member of three Summit League tournament championship teams including the 2009 unit that went on to win the NCAA Norman Regional and advance to the NCAA Tempe Super Regional.
Against the Nationally-Ranked
North Dakota State has won nine of its last 28 meetings with nationally-ranked opponents ... With the dramatic 1-0 win in 11 innings over 9th/10th-ranked Oklahoma at the 2009 NCAA Norman Regional, North Dakota State softball recorded its first win over a nationally-ranked team since beginning the transition to Division I in 2005 ... NDSU is currently 10-56 overall ... By year,
2005 (0-5) -- Lost at #21 Iowa 2-0, Lost at #25 Nebraska 7-0, Lost at #25 Nebraska 8-0, Lost at #20 Missouri 9-1, Lost at #20 Missouri 8-0;
2006 (0-5) -- Lost at #10 Oklahoma 9-0, Lost at #10 Oklahoma 7-2, Lost at #24 North Carolina 5-1, Lost at #6 Cal 10-1, Lost at #16 Nebraska 8-0;
2007 (0-1) -- Lost to #25 Oregon 6-1;
2008 (0-1) -- Lost at #9 Stanford 7-0;
2009 (1-5) -- Lost at #11 Arizona 10-0, Lost at #11 Arizona 9-2, Lost at #11 Arizona 12-0, Won at #9/10 Oklahoma 1-0 (11), Lost at #9/10 Arizona State, 3-0, Lost at #9/10 Arizona State 11-0;
2010 (0-4) -- Lost vs. #6 Arizona 6-0, Lost at #21 Texas A&M 4-0, Lost at #21 Texas A&M 5-2, Lost at #1 Washington, 3-0;
2011 (0-10) -- Lost at #1/2 UCLA 7-0, Lost at #1/2 UCLA 15-2 (5), Lost at #2/4 Georgia 14-4 (5), Lost at #16/17 Stanford 12-0 (5), Lost vs. #24 Kentucky 5-4 (8), Lost at #2/3 Florida 18-0 (5), Lost at #2/3 Florida (9-0), Lost at #13/17 Missouri 4-3, Lost at #13/17 Missouri 11-2 (5), Lost at #1 Arizona State 10-1 (5);
2012 (1-6) -- Lost at #2 Alabama 9-4, Lost at #2 Alabama 3-2, Lost at #5 Arizona State 10-2 (5), Lost at #21 Texas A&M 6-0, Lost at #15 Baylor 1-0 (8), Lost at #15 Arizona 11-0 (5), Won vs. #13 Hawai'i 9-7;
2013 (2-5) — Lost vs. #1 Alabama 10-0 (5), Lost at #10 LSU 9-0 (5), Lost at #23 Georgia 4-1, Won at #23 Georgia 3-0, Lost at #12 UCLA 7-1, Won at #20 Nebraska 13-0, Lost at #20 Nebraska 11-0 (5);
2014 (2-6)— Lost at #12 Florida State 4-1, Lost at #12 Florida State 9-0 (5), Lost at #12 Florida State 5-0, Won at #22 Stanford 4-0, Lost at #18 Missouri 11-2 (5), Won vs. #21 Auburn 5-2, Lost at #14 Minnesota 4-1, Lost vs. #21 Auburn 1-0;
2015 (3-5) -- Won 6-5 vs. #17 Washington, lost at #11 Tennessee 14-3 (5), #10/12 lost 8-0 (5) at Minnesota, Won 5-4 at #10/12 Minnesota, Won 7-3 at #21 South Alabama, Lost 7-6 (8) at #21 South Alabama; Lost at #1 Oregon 4-3; Lost at #1 Oregon 6-1.
2016 (1-3) -- Lost at #2 Alabama 15-2 (5); Won at #2 Alabama 2-1; Lost vs. #22 Baylor 4-2; Lost vs. #22 Baylor 8-5;
Players Mentioned
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/ SoftballNDSU Softball Signing Day - November 12, 2025
Wednesday, November 12
South Dakota vs. NDSU Softball Highlights - April 26, 2025
Saturday, April 26
North Dakota vs NDSU Softball Highlights - April 13, 2025
Monday, April 14
North Dakota vs NDSU Softball Highlights - April 12, 2025
Saturday, April 12
